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rank in the state. -Observer.L!resulting in his Uq^,*a'ttljle. tils-, charge and bejng sbi,{ North to his ultimate rt?,u.'.vfxv,Although lie did iitft resume' work for the Amerjnuti Express i Co., he always he'd thscompa-! ny and its officers in the higliest j esteem, and frequently spoke of their generous provision for, their employes who enlisted in the war, in that each received lalf pay and the promise of a position when they came home.He vas married on June 22d, 1854, to Sarah P. Hal! of Whitewater, Wisconsin, and with his nide'began as station agent at Jedar Rapids, Iowa, remaining .here less than a year, when he •.•moved to Fort Atkinson, Wis.. ■vhere he has been agent up to :he time of his death, notwith-1 q landing many offers were made ;o him during these yea vs to in-i ice him to go to Chicago and ither la.vgv Jitio3 in the genera' jfllees.; Mis death occurred at F:39 a. m., Thursday, November 26th, 1003, the immediate cause wing heart failure. He had ta-a?n a s?v«’ecold and feltslight-y indisposed the day before but io thought or fear of his sud-len demise was entertained by lis friends or physician.The deceased leaves a most ievoted wife who, although dangerously ill for some weeks, has Jorne up bravely, will put forth ;he allpowerful struggle that she may be a comfort and bless-rig to her children and grand-diildren.EI )eGEORG I; A. PRATT.Obituary.(teorge Alexander Pratt was born February 25th, 1838, at Woodstock, Vermont, of sturdy New England stock. When a boy of 15 he lost his father, and a year later, his mother, after which time he was practically thrown upon his own resources. Ilis father had died with extreme suddenness. An hour after the event, search was made for three small boys. They were found in the woodhouse industriously sawing wood. George, the eldest, had set them the example of going to work, and compelling them to follow it, with the remark, We must support our mother now, and we had better begin right away. It was a characteristic incident. The man, like the lxiy, always did the duty nearest to hand, whether it was faithfully and accurately running the business of a railroad station or responding to his country’s call for volunteers.He first learned the blacksmith's trade in his native town and then came west where he engaged as hotel clerk at St. Louis and other cities, finally starting in railroad work as a brakeman on the old Milwaukee- j and Mississippi out of Janesville,11 Wisconsin. He remained astrainman but a short time when ! -1 the new line of the C. N. W.' i liy., from Chicago to Janesville f was completed and he went to ,1 work for the American Expresf- Co., as messenger between Chi-/ cago and Janesville.ej In 1861, at the breaking out a1 of the civil war, he entered the e' service in the First Illinois Light Artillery and served in many h battle until, on account of her-e nia and sickness,‘he was sent to n the St. Louis hospital to die. By -! the merest chance, a farmer e friend, an influentirl St. Louis 1 man, obtained his immediate ex-r amination by the chief surgeon,A son, Edward William Pratt, Vlaster Mechanic of the Nebraska North-Western Wyo-ning Division of the C. N. W Railway at Mo. Valley,- Iowa; a carried ',';Jghter, Mary Pratt Bright, of Milwaukee, Wis., and two grand-daughters survive; llso William. H. Pratt, of Sioux Rapidsf Iowa, and Charles C. Pratt, of Aurora, Illinois, are brothers of the deceased.Self-educated himself, he succeeded by hard work and frugality in permitting both of his sons and daughter to have the advantages of a college education.During the more than forty years he was station agent at Fort Atkinson from 50 to 60 bo s and young men have worked forhim - manyof them starting under his direction as operators, clerks, etc. On all of tli err has Mr. Pratt’s council and (sxamplc of an upright, honorable and absolutely unselfish character made such lasting impression, that to them will his loss be as that of a fathe and true friend. Among his “boys” who started telegraph work un de • his chage are two present Di vision Superintendents of the C. N. W. Ry.When on Thanksgiving morning the news Hashed over our tittle city that Mr. Pratt was i lead there wereTew hearts that did not foe! a sense of personal loss. An honored and upright man; a valuable citizen had gone. Ho was these and also more than these; not only his inti mat us, but the people he met every day in the street; his employes; those with whom he came only casually in contact, felt his kindness, -a man who made his own corner of the wo'-id warmer by living it it; a friend whose greeting added ole isantness to the morning, had passed out of our lives.'1 .'he comprehension too of our civic loss will deepen as time go =s on. A man upright in his de.dings; one who stood for good citizenship in all its relations; whose formative influence over young men was excellent; leaves a vacant place in the community that is hard to fill.In later years a competence iind prospect of greater leisure nad come to Mr. Pratt and he might reasonably have looked forward to a serene and enjoyable old age. It was not to be.It is indeed a “far cry to heav- ^ en”, but so many of o r friends' J, have trodden that pathway be- \ y\ fore us, that it may not seem ; ult; wholly strange to our unreturn-' p. ing feet.—Jefferson County,1 u Wis., Union.The above was the father of l-Master Mechanic E. W. Pratt - )f this city.
Newspaper Details
Missouri Valley Times
Missouri Valley, Iowa, US
Thu, Dec 17, 1903
Page 10
Full Page
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Anonymous
USA 20 Dec 2023
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